EMERY COUNTY – In a statement issued by the Emery County Sheriff’s office around 9 p.m. Monday, the victims of a helicopter crash were identified as pilot Robin Francis Venuti, 38, from Washington, and passenger Albert Munoz Rubio, 36, of Beaver.

The men went flying Sunday morning and were reported to Grand County Sheriff’s Office as overdue about 8 p.m. that night. Multiple agencies and friends joined Grand County and the Department of Public Safety in a widespread search for the helicopter Sunday night and Monday.

About 2:30 p.m. Monday, the DPS helicopter located the crash site on the west side of Desolation Canyon in Emery County approximately 40 river miles north of Green River.

“It appeared there were no survivors,” the Sheriff’s Office statement said..

The DPS helicopter flew investigators from the Emery County Sheriff’s Office to the scene and the investigators confirmed that there were no survivors.

The bodies were recovered and transported by DPS helicopter to an Emery County off-road ambulance at 6:45 p.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration will handle the crash investigation.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joyce Kuzmanic has been editor in chief of St. George News since 2012, having contributed as a reporter and assistant editor since the publication's inception in 2010. Before St. George News, Joyce has been a private business owner and enjoyed a long career as a paralegal in real estate, business and tax law transactions.
She enjoys hospitality, thinking, reading and adventuring in the great outdoors. Joyce currently resides in St. George with her husband and her dog, Scratch.